


Tears?

by charlesworthy



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Drabble, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-20
Updated: 2014-08-20
Packaged: 2018-02-13 22:43:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2167953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charlesworthy/pseuds/charlesworthy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the first time, Henry regretted his past self.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tears?

While the door to Henry’s study was usually shut, it was hardly ever shut with him in it. If he had reading to be done, he would do it in the open, where he could be distracted by his wife or daughter. Sumia hardly thought he was able to get anything done the way he was, but he said he was a fast reader and a faster learner. While she wasn’t exactly complaining, she couldn’t help but feel a little guilt that she was potentially distracting him from something better.

She felt this guilt more intensely by looking at the shut door, feeling as if he had purposely shut her away because she was distracting him. She stepped towards the door, raising her hand to knock, but rethinking it. Henry was never angry, but what if this was important? Maybe she’d see him angry at last… She didn’t want to see him angry, the memories of his glee in battle was frightening enough.

Her hand hovered above the wood. Did she knock? Would he care? She bit her lip, and listened. Maybe she could tell what he was doing from that alone.

What she heard was surprising. She first mistook it for the shuffling of papers, but after a moment it became clear to be sniffling. A moment later, a sob, and some kind of whining… 

Was Henry crying?

She tapped on the doorway with her knuckles and all noise ceased. There was a small pause before she tried again, and she heard her husband respond in a broken voice that was in no way fitting of her happy mage:

"C-come in."

She hesitated in opening the door. Sumia had never seen Henry cry before and he always insisted he was always happy. Her experience matched up with his testimony, so there was never any reason to doubt him. He had never lied before but… She should have known how easy it was to bury hurt under a smile. Though he never told her, she was sure he had done it, too.

The door yielded without a sound, and she found herself face to face with her husband, sitting in his chair, biting on his finger. She could see his tear-stained cheeks, and… It was a rare occasion that she got to see his violet eyes, too.

"Henry… What’s wrong?"

He glanced away from her, biting harder on his finger. He sniffled a little.

Sumia closed the door behind her, walking into his study.

It wasn’t often that she had been in here, mostly because it wasn’t often that Henry would be found there alone. The place was a mess, though, thankfully Sumia couldn’t identify any creepy object lying about—just sundry papers and books. It was almost strange that Henry hadn’t anything strange in there…

She occupied herself with looking about the room, because it was hard to look at Henry, and she wasn’t sure what else to do.

Finally, he spoke. ”I was… thinking,” he said. ”A-about… Plegia.”

This was a little surprising. Since Henry had deflected into the Shepherds so long ago, he hadn’t expressed any feelings towards his homeland, and was just as happy to settle down wherever Sumia liked. (He even gave her the option of the moon.)

The brunette remained silent, waiting for him to continue. It was best not to rush these things.

"I didn’t… consider them my friends then. But…"

It took a second for it to click in Sumia’s head. Did he mean the Plegian army…? He never spoke of them, so why the sudden change in heart?

"M-Mustafa was a great man," he continued. "I… never appreciated those peaches… Ha ha…"

"You don’t have to laugh," Sumia said. "It’s alright."

He glanced at her, eyes wide and glistening with tears, before letting out a loud sob and covering his face with his hands. Sumia could only hug him, hoping that it was what he needed, and she allowed him to cry into her shoulder for… however long she was standing there.

**Author's Note:**

> this is just the result of me thinking about how Henry is emotionally underdeveloped, and what happens when he finally has time to understand himself


End file.
